Knowledge management and economic development in developing countries: an examination of the main enablers

Global Business and Economics Review

Volumn 7, Issue 1, 2005, Pages 85-99

  Abu Rashed, Jamal ^a   Bertaux, Nancy ^a   Okunoye, Adekunle ^a  

^a XAVIER UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

developing countries; economic development; information technology; knowledge management; knowledge management enablers

Indexed keywords

EID: 34047157443     PISSN: 10974954     EISSN: 17451329     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1504/GBER.2005.006922     Document Type: Article

References (37)

1. Abu-Rashed, J. and Beratux, N. (2002) ‘Gender and information technology’, Global Business and Economics Review – Anthology, pp.44, 45.
2. African Regional Center for Indigenous Knowledge (ARCIK) (2004) About ARCIK [WWW], http://www.niser.org/arcik.htm, 20 May.
3. Avgerou, C. (1998) ‘How can IT enable economic growth in developing countries?’, Information Technology for Development, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp.15–29.
4. Avgerou, C. (2002) Information Systems and Global Diversity, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
5. Bellanet (2001) Knowledge Management: Implications and Applications for Development Organisations, Washington and Brighton Workshop, [WWW], http://www.bellanet.org/km, 3rd April.
6. Borghoff, U. and Pareschi, R. (Eds.,) (1998) Information Technology for Knowledge Management, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
7. Braga, P. and Alberto, C. (1998) ‘Inclusion or exclusion?’, UNESCO Courier, December, pp.24–27.
8. d’Orville, H. (2000) ‘Information and communication technologies and developing countries – towards a knowledge-based economy’, Presentation at International Symposium on Information Technology and Development Corporation, 3 July 2000, Tokyo, Japan, [WWW]. http://www.undp.org/info21/present/tokyo/tokyo.ppt, 11th August.
9. Davenport, T. and Prusak, L. (1998) Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know, Harvard Business School Press, Cambridge, MA.
10. Dunning, J. and Narula, R. (1999) ‘Developing countries versus multinationals in a globalising world: the dangers of falling behind’, Forum for Development Studies, Forum No. 2, pp.261–287.
11. Giddens, A. (1990) The Consequences of Modernity, Polity Press, Cambridge.
12. Goodenow, R. (1996) ‘The cyberspace challenge: modernity, post-modernity and reflections on international networking policy’, Comparative Education, Vol. 32, No. 2, pp.197–217.
13. Hafkin, N. and Taggart, N. (2001) Gender, Information Technology, and Developing Countries: An Analytic Study, USAID: Office of Women in Development, [WWW] http://www.usaid.gov/wid/pubs/it01.htm, October 27, 2003.
14. Harvey, D. (1989) The Condition of Postmodernity, Blackwell, Oxford.
15. Heeks, R. (1999) Information and Communication Technologies, Poverty and Development, Working Paper Series, No 5 Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester, Manchester, [WWW] http://idpm.man.ac.uk/wp/di/index.htm, Monday, 17th March 2003.
16. International Labor Organization (ILO) (2001) World Employment Report 2001: Life at Work in the Information Economy, Geneva.
17. Jarvis, P. (1996) ‘Continuing education in a late-modern or global society: towards a theoretical framework for comparative analysis’, Comparative Education, Vol. 32, No. 2, pp.233–245.
18. Jarvis, P. (1999) ‘Global trends in lifelong learning and the response of the universities’, Comparative Education, Vol. 35, No. 2, pp.249–258.
19. Johnstone, J. (2002) ‘Knowledge perspectives on ICT and development: what the theory of knowledge can add’, Proceedings of the IFIP WG 9.4 Working Conference, May 29-31, Bangalore, India, pp.90–101.
20. Leonard-Barton, D. (1995) Wellsprings of Knowledge: Building and Sustaining the Sources of Innovation, Harvard Business School Press, Cambridge, MA.
21. Madon, S. (2000) ‘The internet and socio-economic development: exploring the interaction’, Information Technology & People, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp.85–101.
22. Mansell, R. and When, U. (Eds.) (1998) Knowledge Societies: Information Technology and Sustainable Development, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
23. Meyer, R. (1997) ITC Definition, Trinity University, Thursday, 05 September 2002, [WWW] http://www.cs.trinity.edu/itc/97-98/meyer.draft.txt.
24. Morales-Gomez, D. and Melesse, M. (1998) ‘Utilising information and communication technologies for development: the social dimensions’, Information Technology for Development, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp.3–14.
25. Nath, V. (2000) ‘ICT enabled knowledge societies for human development’, Information Technology in Developing Countries, IFIP Working Group 9.4 Newsletter, Vol. 10, No. 2, [WWW], http://www.iimahd.ernet.in/egov/ifip/aug2000.htm, Monday, 17th October 2002.
26. Nherera, C. (2000) ‘Globalisation, qualifications and livelihoods: the case of Zimbabwe’, Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp.335–363.
27. Nonaka, I. and Takeuchi, H. (1995) The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
28. Porter, M. (1990) The Competitive Advantage of Nations, The Free Press, New York.
29. Richardson, D. (1996) The Internet and Rural Development: Recommendations for Strategy and Activity, FAO, [WWW], http://www.fao.org/waicent/FAOINFO/sustdev/cddirect/cddo/contents.htm, July 8th, 2001.
30. Robertson, R. (1992) Globalisation: Social Theory and Global Culture, Sage, London.
31. Robertson, R. and Lechner, F. (1985) ‘Modernization, globalization and the problem of culture in world-systems theory’, Media, Culture and Society, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp.103–117.
32. Stiglitz, J. (1999) ‘Scan globally, reinvent locally: knowledge infrastructure and the localization of knowledge’, Keynote Address at the First Global Development Network Conference, Bonn, Germany 5-8 December.
33. The World Bank Group (1999) World Bank Report 1998/99: Knowledge for Development [WWW]. http://www.worldbank.org/ks/html/pubs_pres.html, 3rd April 2000.
34. United Nations Development Programs (UNDP) (2003) The Arab Human Development Report 2003, Building a Knowledge Society, UN Plaza, New York.
35. Walsham, G. (2001) Making a World of Difference: IT in a Global Context, John Wiley and Sons, New York.
36. It is important to distinguish between technology and information on the one hand and knowledge on the other. The existence of technology gives us the potential to carry out many tasks. However, in order to do this, the technology must be embodied, either explicitly in physical capital such as machinery or implicitly in human capital such as people’s talent. Books per se, if not read and understood, can’t be considered knowledge and are not useful.
37. Governments in advanced economies, like the US, were the primary drivers in the creation of ICT infrastructure. The Department of Defence in the USA was a key element in the creation of the US software industry, and all subsequent development in other countries has been state promoted, state led or state initiated.